Vaughan Gething: In my regular statements on Betsi Cadwaladr university health board, I have set out the detail of where improvements have been made, such as in maternity services, but I have also been very clear where the health board must take urgent action over the next 18 months. In May this year I published a new improvement framework for Betsi and I announced a range of intensive support, including the...
Vaughan Gething: I have tremendous sympathy for the family for their loss. I don't want to try and use the position that they find themselves in to either take credit or to score points. I think the important point is that in every incident of this kind there is of course an internal review about what happened and what went wrong. We discussed earlier on another question about the real and lasting impact of...
Vaughan Gething: There was a range of people, of course, who were involved in conversations and campaigns at the time, and the Government did look again and have a review, and the First Minister made a choice on the back of an expert review, which has now led to the SuRNICC being opened. There are people in this Chamber who took part in that campaign, and I see the local Member looking at me, and of course...
Vaughan Gething: Yes. Five health boards have the medicines transcribing and e-discharge system live within their hospitals. I'll refer to it from now on as the MTeD system; it'll make things easier and quicker. The two remaining health boards have their own local systems with similar functionality to MTeD in providing discharge information to general practitioners.
Vaughan Gething: I think it would be foolish to try and pause MTeD and try to do something different. If you look at what we've done, it's part of the Welsh clinical portal. Practitioners generally are very supportive of it and positive about it—not just practitioners within hospitals and GPs but also within the pharmacy world too—and there's recognition that we are in a better position than England,...
Vaughan Gething: We continue to work with health boards and, from October of course, Health Education and Improvement Wales on recruitment challenges with short, medium and long-term action. This includes our successful 'Train. Work. Live.' campaign, increasing medical school places and working to ensure that more Welsh students go on to study to become healthcare professionals.
Vaughan Gething: Well, in north Wales, I'm aware of ongoing conversations about having to improve the quality of their accommodation and whether or not the health service itself needs to provide it. Or there could be a partnership, for example, with registered social landlords, housing associations to help provide investment into a facility and better and more proactive management of it. So, it is an issue...
Vaughan Gething: I'm happy that you've highlighted the nurse recruitment part of ‘Train. Work. Live.’ and that it isn't just a campaign for GP or specialist doctor recruitment. Actually, the feedback we've already had from people who have come in to Wales as a result of ‘Train. Work. Live.’—a number of whom I met at the Royal College of Nursing congress in Belfast—is that the campaign is...
Vaughan Gething: I recognise the point you make about the bursary, so I've made annual choices to roll forward the bursary. The consultation has now ended. We've had, I think, over 40 different organisations and a number individuals who have responded. So, I'll get a summary of the consultation and I'll then have some decisions to make over the autumn about a longer term arrangement so we don't need to make...
Vaughan Gething: We deliver a number of approaches to support physical health. We have targeted programmes such as the daily mile, legislation through delivery of an obesity strategy and minimum unit pricing, service provision such as smoking cessation and weight management, guidelines through nutritional standards in schools and planning through health impact assessments.
Vaughan Gething: I recognise the broad points you make and I don't think we'll find ourselves with any disagreement on the principles. I look forward to the committee's report, and you'll hear more from the Government over the course of this autumn. You know that we're committed, not just by legislation, but we've made public commitments about our new healthy weight strategy, available for consultation this...
Vaughan Gething: I know that your previous profession was in the secondary education tier, but actually, when you look at what we, in particular, are trying to do, patterns for life are often set in early years and in primary school, and there's lots of outdoor education in almost all the primary schools that I have seen and visited. It's a consistent part of what they look to achieve. And not only that, but...
Vaughan Gething: Thank you for the question. The Welsh bone marrow donor registry is operated by the Welsh Blood Service. The Welsh Blood Service actively encourages donors from all ethnic backgrounds to join the panel and asks blood donors aged 17 to 30 if they would like to register, as this age group offers transplant patients the best chance of survival.
Vaughan Gething: I'm aware of that particular instance, and I know that you've played a part in supporting the family in their awareness-raising campaign, and I wish them every success in finding a donor for their child. I've visited the Welsh Blood Service and I've seen how the registry works, and it is an amazing feat, actually, to have a worldwide register to potentially find donors in different parts of...
Vaughan Gething: Welsh Government recognises the important role provision of registered after-school clubs play in supporting families. The clubs not only provide valuable opportunities for school age children to play, develop skills, and make new friends, but also support working parents ensuring their children are cared for in a safe appropriate environment.
Vaughan Gething: The approach is set out in the Respiratory Health Delivery Plan for Wales, which was updated and published in January. The Plan includes a national work stream for Interstitial Lung Disease and the establishment of regional specialist teams to support local care.
Vaughan Gething: Timely complaints handling is a key measure in the NHS Delivery Framework and performance overall is showing a year on year improvement. This will continue to be monitored closely to ensure the target of 75% of all complaints being resolved within 30 days is met.
Vaughan Gething: I work closely with my colleague, the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services to ensure there is effective engagement between Local Health Boards and their Local Authority partners across the range of their respective responsibilities.
Vaughan Gething: The Cancer Delivery Plan for Wales 2017-2020 sets out our approach to detecting and diagnosing cancer. People referred for urgent suspected cancer should be diagnosed and begin definitive treatment within 62 days. I am pleased to note continued improvements in one and five year survival for cancer patients in Wales.
Vaughan Gething: We recognise that some STIs are increasing. Implementation of the recommendations of the review, supported by alternative models of service delivery, will allow for improved access to testing and treatment. Pilots of the alternative models are underway and will report at the end of the financial year.
